Sweden is the first nation in the world to embrace a cashless society, where according to the central bank, Riksbank, cash transactions made up only 2% of the value of all payments last year. Swedish economists believe that by 2020 cash transactions will be only 0.5%.

Various apps like Swish and the Danish app, MobilePay, are being used to make purchases from various street vendor sales and even to give church donations. According a Guardian article, "Sweden leads race to become cashless society," by Jon Henley dated June 4, 2016, "Swedes are blazing the trail in Europe, with banks, buses, street vendors and even churches expecting plastic or virtual payment."

Promoters of a cashless society point out that there are countless benefits, such as control, tracking, and identification of criminals, along with the ability to block deposits, purchases, and withdrawals. In 2014, Cass Sunstein, the "regulatory czar," former head of the office of Information and Regulatory Affair (OIRA), promoted the idea that a cashless society would reduce street crime. Sunstein believed that there was a relationship between (EBT) Electronic Benefit Transfer system for welfare benefits and a drop in crime. Although there has been no proof that Sunstein's theory is true, in the spring of 2014, the Department of Justice came under fire for "Operation Choke Point," which was designed to shut down payday lenders and other merchant activities that were labeled "high-risk."

Sunstein appears to believe that society should be run by something resembling Plato's Philosopher King System, controlled by "elites" such as himself. In effect, our world already is ruled by a class of wealthy and powerful people who view themselves as the philosopher or god-kings described by the Greek Philosopher Plato, who had studied the legendary super-civilization of Atlantis. I outline the historical progression of this in A Prophecy of the Future of America 2016-2017.

Although Sunstein would not call himself a Marxist, his ideological beliefs are totalitarian in nature, such as the belief that people should be prevented from being exposed to different belief systems on the Internet. So it is no wonder that Cass Sunstein wrote an op-ed advocating a cashless society.

According to an article written in the Atlantic magazine on April 8, 2016, "How a Cashless Society Could Embolden Big Brother," by Sarah Jeong, a bare list of bullet points put out by the FDIC include some of the following merchant categories associated with high-risk activity.

One major bank shut down the personal accounts of hundreds of "adult entertainers," which caused them to lose access to medical treatment, food and rent money.

Sarah Jeong wrote,

"A cashless society promises a world of limitation, control, and surveillance, which the poorest American already have in abundance."

According to Jeong, EBT and the cashless society targets the most vulnerable people in our society.

Interestingly, one of the most widely read books in human history, the Book Of Revelation, deals specifically with a global cashless society where no individual can buy or sell without receiving what is called "the mark of the beast," which appears to predict some kind of microchip implant with a computer-brain interface. This "mark of the beast" technology will only be distributed to individuals who have the required religious and political beliefs, making it an all-powerful global control system.

Despite the intellectual bias against the Book of Revelation even being looked at, the reality is that it brings up the themes of a cashless society and some kind of microchip over 2,000 years ago. The other thing that is interesting is that in order to receive this chip and participate in the economic system and be able to buy or sell, you must have specific beliefs. The specific condition is that you must choose to worship the charismatic world leader the Bible calls the Antichrist.

No matter what your previous religious beliefs were, you must renounce them and declare your worship of the Antichrist as God. This appears to specifically target Christians, in that they must renounce their belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and openly state that they will worship the Antichrist.

Over a century ago readers of this passage from Revelation Chapter 13 had a difficult time understanding exactly what the Mark of the Beast would be and how it would work. But now, in a world where nano-chip implants and computer-brain interfaces are evolving every day, it is easy to see how such a system could be put into place. Already a host of secular writers are warning of the Orwellian control that is coming through a cashless society. Could it be we are near the point where our political or religious belief system will determine whether or not we will be allowed to participate in the economic system? It is not too difficult to believe that in just a few short years microchip implants could be distributed on the basis of our political belief systems.

The microscopic chips are already being manufactured. The technology is already in place; all it would take is a legal order, either national or global. In order for that to happen, all it would take is some kind of national disaster, terrorist attack, or economic collapse. I explore the realities of how soon this could be coming in my book, "A Prophecy of the Future of America 2016 - 2017."